Time is Running Out
by danniperson
Summary: Harry is willing to do anything to turn back time and fix things when his eldest child dies, but a mishap with a time-turner spins everything out of control and they might be in worse shape than before.
1. Promise of an End

**TIME IS RUNNING OUT**

**Chapter One: **_**Promise of an End**_

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Curling up in bed beside his husband of eighteen years, Harry Potter didn't think twice about leaning in and pressing his mouth against Severus Snape's soft, thin lips. Severus didn't move, only pressing his lips firmly together for a moment before pulling back as much as he could lying down and growling, "Potter."

Harry groaned and buried his face in his husband's neck. Severus only squirmed away more. "Sev, I am _tired_," Harry grumbled, though he already began moving, knowing that no argument in the world was going to be enough to get him what he wanted.

"Then go to sleep," Severus retorted smoothly, eyes narrowed at his husband. "and keep that…_beast_…away from my person."

Harry snorted and reluctantly sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed and sliding off. "I do enjoy having you refer to my _face_ as a _beast_." He sighed heavily and shuffled into the adjoining bathroom and glared into the mirror, rubbing his hand over the light trace of facial hair that was growing there. Severus was usually more creative, referring to it as a _monkey_ or a _crup_ or some other, more specific furry animal whenever his facial hair began to grow long enough for Severus to notice it. Harry didn't exactly like having facial hair, but he also didn't like having to shave multiple times a day just to be allowed near his husband. He was only glad not to be a particularly hairy person, otherwise Harry was afraid he'd spend hours having to shave various body parts to Severus's liking.

A few minutes later, Harry reentered the bedroom and crawled back into bed, feeling a bit more energized now that he had been up and doing something. He sighed, already getting the feeling that it was going to be a long and restless night. It was just his luck with the first day of classes beginning tomorrow. It had been a long enough day today with the welcoming feast and preparations for the start of the year, and the first day of actual classes was nearly as bad…He'd have to hand out everyone's schedules, making sure to set up meetings to discuss the futures of fifth years and seventh years since they would be taking the OWLs and NEWTs, making sure the prefects of his House and the Qudditch captain knew their duties, and _that_ was just his role as the Head of Gryffindor House! He would also have to work on his actual _teaching_ duties as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Then there was his duty as a _father_, making sure that Audrey, Naomi, and Richard were ready for the year, _especially_ Richard since it was his first year.

"Wow," Harry whispered as it dawned on him, feeling some strange mix of pride and sorrow well up inside of him as he stared up at the dark ceiling.

"Yes?" Severus said.

"They're not here," Harry said quietly.

"No…They're not," Severus said just as quietly and just as thoughtfully, rolling over onto his back beside Harry. Obviously his mind was in the same place.

Their quarters seemed so empty now. The kids all stayed with them during summer and during the year when they were younger, but once they were Sorted they had to stay in their dorms in their respective House dormitories, only really allowed back with their parents during holidays or on special occasions such as birthdays and the night Audrey was so distraught and heartbroken over her breakup with Regis Shackelbolt fourth year and needed the comfort of her fathers. Now they were all gone. Audrey was probably still up reading in Ravenclaw Tower, Naomi was probably thinking of ways to sneak out of the Slytherin dungeons, and now Richard…their baby Richard was probably fast asleep in Gryffindor Tower by now. Audrey was in her sixth year, Naomi in her fourth, and Richard was in his first…

They were growing up too fast.

"Now is not the time to be sentimental, Potter," Severus said after a moment and Harry laughed, rolling over onto his side to snuggle up against his husband. He smiled a bit more when he felt Severus shift and two strong arms encircled him.

"It's _never_ the time to be sentimental," Harry said accusingly. Such soft moments would always earn some sarcastic remark from the potions master.

"Exactly," Severus replied, sounding amused. Harry rolled his eyes and leaned up to kiss Severus gently, smiling into his lover's mouth as Severus began to kiss him back. He tasted the familiar flavors of Severus's favorite Superior Red wine and a pain relieving potion he had taken just a few hours ago to clear his migraine. He remembered teasing Severus at dinner about it, saying he was fifty seven and old and he couldn't handle all of the noise and commotion as well as he used to, while Severus retorted that he never handled children all that well. Harry grinned a bit more when he felt Severus growing hard against his thigh as Harry moved against him, rolling over on top of him. At the first feel, Harry ground his hips against his husband, feeling his own arousal awaken. He may have been old in age and mind, but his body reacted just as well as it always did.

"Potter, we are kissing, not posing for a photograph," Severus muttered against his mouth, frowning.

Not sure what to actually say to that, Harry pressed his thigh between Severus's legs pointedly. A quiet sound, somewhere between a muffled groan and growl, escaped the older wizard in response and Severus glared. "That is what happens when you incessantly wiggle against that area, Potter. Surely you know that by now."

"I didn't start wiggling until I noticed it," Harry argued.

"You _always_ squirm around like some hyperactive _child_," Severus retorted as his fingertips lightly trailed down Harry's spine, causing the younger man to shiver and lean down to kiss him deeply again. Harry made a pleased sound as Severus ran his hands over his arse and grasped it firmly before moving his hands back up and wrapping his arms around his husband, holding him close. Both groaned quietly into each other's mouths as Harry began moving his hips against Severus's, pressing their more interested body parts together.

Severus held onto Harry tightly as he rolled them over so that he was on top of his younger lover, kissing him more urgently and grasping Harry's thighs, pulling his legs apart and up to hold around him. When Harry pulled his mouth away, Severus moved his own lips down Harry's jaw and to his neck, licking and kissing and nibbling at his warm skin that smelled faintly of the pomegranate-mango shampoo the boy was so fond of. He had used more masculine shampoo and conditioner until the girls decided on that one year for father's day…Severus hadn't expected Harry to like it so much, but the fruity smell didn't bother Severus as much as it used to. It was just part of his Harry.

"_Accio_ lube!" Harry rasped out and shivered as Severus licked and lightly scraped his teeth along his collarbone.

"Assuming things, are we?" Severus whispered huskily as he trailed his tongue back up to flick against Harry's earlobe, pleased by the way Harry tightened his legs around him.

"Fuck me," Harry pleaded, scraping his short nails down Severus's back and grasping at the hem of his nightshirt and tugging it up.

Severus chuckled and moved when he needed to in order to help Harry in its removal. "You're thirty seven…You should show more self control than the adolescents we deal with on a daily basis."

Harry rolled his eyes and set the bottle of lubricant beside them on the mattress and began tugging at Severus's pajama bottoms and underwear while Severus worked on tugging the sleeves of his nightshirt from his hands and tossing it aside, then moved to sit up in order to help shove his pants from his legs. Harry was already eagerly shoving his own pajama bottoms down and kicking them off. He felt the need to argue that he _was_ better than he used to be and with everything going on recently it had been a while since they had had sex. All of that was easily forgotten as bare skin met bare skin and he hissed in pleasure as he felt Severus's cock brush against his.

Severus luxuriated in taking Harry…He always did prefer teasing Harry to the point of madness before finally taking him. It didn't always happen that way…There were times when they jumped right into things as Harry seemed to like it and other times when they would meet somewhere in the middle of things. Severus wanted Harry, wanted him more with each passing moment, with every movement and every little sound he made, but he was not driven by the insane need to just take him. He wanted all of him, to explore every inch of his delectable body as he had done many times before, and would gladly spend the rest of his life doing. He never could get enough of the young man, every touch and every taste just as pleasing and exciting as the first time. It always felt that way, some fine medium between knowledge and comfort and excitement and passion.

He wanted nothing more than for Harry to lay back and enjoy himself and by now Harry fully understood that Severus truly did take great pleasure in pleasing him. Skilled potion-stained hands trailed over his burning skin, soft lips following their trail and taking care to tease his nipples along the way. He fumbled around for the lubricant and coated his fingers with the cool, slick substance as he kissed along Harry's stomach and pelvis and began preparing him as he took Harry's aching need into his mouth. Dark eyes locked with green as long fingers massaged his inner walls and that warm mouth moved over him, sucking him fervently until he had worked in three fingers and Harry was too consumed by pleasure to retain the self control required to hold his lover's gaze.

Severus removed his fingers and his mouth and climbed back up Harry's body, kissing Harry softly as he pulled his husband's legs up and guided his own hardness to the prepared entrance and entered him in one long thrust. Harry gasped into his mouth and clung to him closely, pressing up eagerly. Harry did his best to speed up the movements as he always did and Severus grasped his hips to hold him still, the small show of control and possession that Harry reveled in. Severus started out slowly and deeply, leisurely kissing Harry's neck while his husband clung to him and moaned loudly. At the feel of nails digging into his back, he was urged on to pick up the pace. It wasn't long before they were kissing desperately, Severus grabbing Harry's exploring hands and holding them down into the mattress, lacing their fingers together as Harry lifted his legs further, crying out his pleasure as Severus pounded into him repeatedly.

Harry was close…so very, very close when they were interrupted. He could feel the pressure and warmth building, all of that pleasure reaching that beautiful point when he was suddenly blinded by a very bright light in their very dark room. Harry hissed and turned his head away and Severus grunted and buried his face in the side of Harry's neck for a moment, only turning to squint at the patronus, a bighorn sheep, as it began to speak in Neville Longbottom's voice. "Sorry to bother you both, but we need you out here. Something's happened."

He almost said it could wait, but Harry knew better. Neville wouldn't bother them like this, especially at this time of night. Severus was already moving, frowning deeply as he pulled out of him, and looking just as irritated as Harry felt. The concern wasn't enough to override the annoyance just yet as the two grumbled and slid out of bed, pulling on clothes and robes as an afterthought to hide whatever obvious arousal remained through the interruption. Severus muttered a few things that sounded very gruesome and violent and probably all involved a very creative plot to kill Neville Longbottom. Harry agreed. The Herbology professor was a close friend of Harry's, but right now…

The thought was interrupted by another as they walked swiftly from their bedroom to the entrance to their chambers. Was it Neville's turn to patrol the halls tonight? Had something happened to one of the children? Severus seemed to have caught this train of thought first, because he hurried to the door before Harry and flung it open. Harry stopped where he was, staring in surprise at a very helpless looking Neville Longbottom holding onto a very distraught looking girl. It took a moment to recognize the beautiful sixteen year old as Odette Zabini, Audrey's best friend and daughter of Blaise Zabini and Fleur Delacour. Neville's daughter Bliss stood nearby, staring at Odette in shock and concern.

The sounds emitted from the part-Veela witch were horrifying. It went beyond crying. The sobbing and the screaming could only be described as anguished sounds of complete and utter devastation. Odette wailed and clutched at Neville's robes, looking as though he was the only thing keeping her halfway on her feet at all. Her screams were piercing and her lovely face was scrunched up and red and wet with tears.

"Miss Zabini," Severus said sharply, surprising everyone and earning glares from everyone but Odette. Harry wanted to slap his husband at first…The girl obviously needed comfort. His sharp voice seemed to strike something within her and Odette gasped and looked up at him. Her blue eyes were wide for a moment and she pushed away from Neville and flung herself at a very stunned Severus Snape and began wailing again, this time becoming more than mindless wailing. It took a moment to understand what she was saying, though it was in French. She was very much like her parents, slipping into a foreign language when she was very emotional. "_Je_ _suis désolé_! _Je suis désolé_!"

"Err…You're sorry?" Harry guessed and relaxed a bit when Odette began nodding frantically. She began to hiccup between sobs and screams and Severus growled and grasped her by the shoulders, shaking her firmly.

"Odette! Calm down!" Severus growled. "What is going on?"

Odette began breathing heavily and quickly, her attempt to calm herself down ending up in hyperventilation and coughing. She was struggling to speak and everyone gathered around her, whispering soothingly, trying to encourage her to relax while listening closely to what she was saying. Everyone was in state of hopeless, helpless panic…Their first priority was getting Odette calmed down enough to explain something—_anything_—so that they could do something. Something awful must have happened, though no one thought much about that obvious fact as they whispered to her and stroked her arm.

"Au…Audrey!" Odette managed to wail. "Audrey!"

Severus and Harry froze, eyes turning wildly to each other while Neville and Bliss continued to hold her.

"What happened to Audrey?" Severus demanded, moving to step around them and out into the corridor. Harry turned and dashed back into their bedroom to grab his wand from the bedside table, having to jump across the bed to get to it and nearly falling flat on his face as he scrambled off of it. "_Accio_ Marauder's Map!"

The Map zoomed into his hands from where it had been, laying on his desk. Harry hastily unfolded it as he scrambled back into the living room, eyes frantically looking over every inch of it for Audrey's name. Spotting him, Severus moved back into the rooms to grasp the ends of the Map Harry didn't hold, helping him look. Audrey. They had to get to Audrey. Odette was upset and it had to do with Audrey. Something had happened…something must have happened to their daughter, though neither dared to guess what it could be.

"There!" Harry said, jabbing a shaky finger at the name _Audrey Potter_ outside of the castle. Without a thought, Harry clutched the Map and ran from the room, having to jump around Neville, Bliss, and Odette. Severus was right behind him. Nothing stopped them. No polite greetings from ghosts or paintings and not even giving a second glance to the Huffelpuff and Gryffindor locked in an embrace beside a statue. They ran as fast as they could and urged themselves to move faster as they ran upstairs and darted across the entrance hall. Harry could have screamed his frustration as he had to spare a few precious moments unlocking the front doors before bursting out of them and running to his left. He slowed only long enough to check his Map, not sure if he should be pleased or not to see that her name was still in the same spot.

"AUDREY!" Harry shouted as he ran closer to the spot it showed her name. He cast a quick _lumos_ and reluctantly slowed down to look around the dark grounds.

"AUDREY!" Severus called, a few yards to his left.

They both shouted her name repeatedly. Harry's stomach felt as though it were twisted into a thousand tiny knots and his chest seemed to grow tighter, suffocating him more the longer the seconds ticked by.

When he saw her he couldn't breathe at all.

A dark lump in the distance they both rushed to. Their daughter had never looked so still in her life. The first moment was long as they both stared at her, their minds and hearts trying to make sense of what they were seeing. Their daughter…their beautiful, precious daughter lying on the ground in a large pool of blood, her body twisted to impossible angles. The position of her neck looked painful. Her arms and legs were thrown out wide. She looked so uncomfortable.

Harry didn't breathe. He couldn't look away. His heart didn't even feel as though it was beating anymore. He barely registered that Severus had moved, was shakily sinking to his knees by her side, and tenderly reaching out to check her pulse…to place his hand over her heart…to check her breathing…He watched, expecting Severus to pull out his wand or a phial and fix it. He waited for the magic cure and waited for his daughter to move and to open her eyes and to show some sign of life. He waited and waited until his head spun and he stumbled backwards, shaking his head vigorously.

"No," he gasped.

Tears burned in his eyes and pain unlike anything he had ever felt before hit. He never noticed his husband reaching out to pull her limp body in his arms, holding her close as his body trembled. He didn't hear the heartbreaking sobs from the man he had never, not once, heard cry. He heard nothing but a loud ringing in his ears, seeing nothing but the viciously red blood and blurred, dark shapes through his tears. This awful, dreadful feeling was all consuming. This was worse than facing the Dementors. He didn't simply feel as though he would never be happy again. He _knew_ it. He also knew he would beg the damnable creatures to Kiss him, to steal his soul and hope to whatever deities existed that it would be enough of a sacrifice to bring his daughter back and if it wasn't then maybe it would numb him enough to drive this heartbreak away.

"No," he whispered. "She's not dead, Severus…Severus…SEVERUS! SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S NOT DEAD, SEVERUS, STOP!" Harry screamed. This was a joke. A cruel joke. It couldn't be possible. There was no way…no way possible that Audrey, his beautiful firstborn daughter, could be dead. It wasn't possible for his precious baby girl to be dead. It wasn't possible that he could lose someone else that he loved so much. It wasn't possible that anyone that young and beautiful and smart and perfect could be _gone_. It couldn't be. Harry was on his knees, clawing up the grass and glaring through his tears to where Severus was rocking Audrey's body back and forth in his arms. He breathed deeply through gritted teeth and hissed and shook his head. "Stop it!" he croaked out. "STOP IT! NO! STOP IT!"

Harry his hands into the ground and shoved himself to his feet and stumbled forward. He stumbled all the way to where Severus and Audrey were and fell to his knees and shoved his husband. "You're hurting her, stop it!" Harry growled and grasped at Audrey's arm as it flopped around as Severus rocked her back and forth. "Audrey, wake up! Wake up…Baby, we're here…Wake up! You have to wake up now!" Harry pleaded desperately. "Audrey…Audrey, wake up! Audrey, wake up! Wake up now! Wake up right now!" he shouted angrily. "Audrey Blake Potter, you wake up right now or…or…Audrey, stop it! Severus, stop it! Severus, we have to help her! Severus, stop!"

What was Severus doing? Harry felt a strong surge of anger burst through everything else. Audrey wasn't dead and it wasn't right for him to act like it. Harry shook his head and sniffed hard as he grabbed onto Audrey and tried to pull her away from Severus. Why was Severus crying? Severus never cried. Why was Odette crying? This had to be some elaborate scheme to prank Harry and he was going to kill them all when they admitted it.

Because Audrey couldn't be dead.

She couldn't.

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**Author's Note: **I will admit it right now, I'm not an angst person so I don't know how this turned out. Angst is hard for me and I avoid reading it like the plague, so writing it was _difficult_! I did my best, though, lol. I was super depressed today and the idea came to me…Maybe I should have written it when I was still upset lol. Anyway, I hope it was good and I hope everyone enjoyed it so far. Please review and let me know what you think and if I should continue it!


	2. Last Chance Has Arrived

**TIME IS RUNNING OUT**

**Chapter Two: **_**Last Chance Has Arrived**_

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_The Sorting Hat put me in Ravenclaw! Daddy and Papa are going to be so disappointed. I guess at least they'll stop arguing now over where I'll end up. I don't think __anyone__ expected me to be anywhere but Gryffindor or Slytherin. I can't believe this is happening-_

_I messed up my first potion in class! That is so messed up and so embarrassing. My father is the potions master, for Merlin's sake! What is wrong with me? I know I never practiced much at home or anything, but shouldn't I still be good at it? I feel like I'm not good at __anything__. I guess the world had to make up for my dads both being so good at so many things by making me crap at everything-_

_Daddy told me today that I'm a really good artist. I don't know if he was trying to up my self esteem or something. What good is being good at __drawing__? I really fail as a witch since I have no real talents in __magic__-_

_-I have a feeling everyone is disappointed in me. I'm disappointed in myself._

_Naomi got put in Slytherin. I hate her. Good and perfect Naomi Lane Potter, destined to be the Slytherin Princess. Papa was so proud of her and even Daddy was, though he teased her about being disappointed she wasn't in Gryffindor. Everyone knows Slytherin and Gryffindor are the best Houses! They never say anything bad about me being in Ravenclaw, but I know they're upset about it. Who wouldn't be? At least I'm not in Huffelpuff. I might have killed myself-_

_-Naomi is making perfect grades in Potions and DADA. I hate her._

_-Naomi made the Qudditch team. A Chaser. I really hate her._

_-I actually did really good on my potion today…but I got so nervous I ended up knocking over my cauldron and dropping the phial with the finished product! I really hate my life._

_I love Regis so much. He says he loves me, too, but he can't be with me right now. He says I should talk to someone about my problems. I can't be happy and I can't make him happy until I do. But I don't have problems. Correction, I __can't__ have problems. I'm bad enough as it is without telling everyone all of these dark thoughts going through my head. I can see the headlines now: Harry Potter's daughter is crazy! I'm not really crazy at least I don't think. Maybe I am, though. That would explain a lot, wouldn't it-_

_-I can't stand this anymore._

_Richard's in Gryffindor. In twenty or so years he'll be the fucking Minister of Magic, too. I already heard people saying how many good things they've heard about Richard. So much better than me. I can't stand this. I can't stand being here anymore. No one will miss me. Daddy and Papa already have their two perfect children. Regis is trying to shag Arienne. He obviously never loved me. Everything is falling apart. Maybe I'll go jump off of the Astronomy Tower. Make it dramatic. Otherwise, they'd probably never even notice-_

Harry reread Audrey's journal over and over again and every time his heart shattered into a million more pieces. The broken pieces seemed to pierce through everything, a blinding pain burning through every inch of his body. The pain was so deeply etched inside of him, he felt like it might never go away. The guilt gnawed at him worse than anything. His daughter had been depressed for _years_. So many entries were tragically painful and self-depreciating. How could his beautiful daughter hate herself so much? Harry certainly didn't think so low of her as Audrey apparently thought, and he was sure Severus didn't either.

More importantly: how had they never seen it? How could anyone suffer so much and feel so awful all of the time and no one ever know? Maybe she took after Severus in that sense, being too good at hiding her thoughts and emotions. He wished he could tell her that. She would revel in any comparison to either of her parents and would absolutely love being praised for a talent… it wasn't anything _magical_, though, so maybe not. Harry frowned deeply, blinking the tears away from his eyes.

"I'm not going," Harry whispered, grasping Audrey's open diary tightly in his lap. He was sitting on the couch in his home in Godric's Hollow still in his pajamas. Audrey was going to be buried in the local cemetery with her grandparents. She shouldn't be buried there at all until she had to be buried next to _them_, after he and Severus were long gone. Children should never die before their parents. It wasn't _right_.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione sighed sadly, slowly sitting down next to him and resting her hand comfortingly on his leg. Harry began shaking his head as soon as she opened her mouth again, but she spoke anyway. "You should go…You need to be there. For closure…to…to be there for her."

"How can I be there for her when she's _gone_?" Harry snapped acidly.

Hermione flinched at his tone, but gave his leg a gentle squeeze. "We're here for you, Harry…You and Severus…We're all here for you. It…I know it's not easy, but…You might regret it one day. You should come and say goodbye and…" Hermione's voice cracked and Harry wasn't sure if he felt more annoyed, pleased, or saddened by the tears that filled her eyes. Hermione cleared her throat, looking as though she was attempting to get herself under control.

"Vell now," said a gruff voice from down the hallway. Harry and Hermione turned at the loud stomping down the hallway and Viktor Krum appeared, looking agitated. "Harry, Hermione…Ve have a problem."

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked in a panic, jumping to her feet. It was perhaps more worry than the situation actually warranted, as Viktor didn't appear to be too bent out of shape, but everyone had been very on edge since Audrey's death. "Is it the children?"

"Ves, it is the children," Viktor huffed to his wife. "Come! Come, come!" he called out, turning and beckoning behind him. He stepped aside to let them all file in. Harry had known all of the children had been gathered in Naomi's room, trying to distract and cheer up his children. He hadn't thought much of all of the noise coming from down the hallway. He especially didn't, at first, notice anything wrong. Hearing Hermione gasp beside him, though, Harry took a closer look.

"_Hugo Ivan Krum, what have you done_?" Hermione hissed.

"Err…I can explain," fourteen year old Hugo said nervously, twisting around a strangely familiar chain in his hands. Harry's eyes grew wide as he recognized it and quickly let his eyes scan over the large group of young wizards and witches. He saw his own children, Naomi and Richard…Then there were Arienne and Odette Zabini; Hugo Krum; Dillon, Fergall, Kevin, Riley, Quinn, and Kyna Weasley; Scorpius and Daenerys Malfoy; Regis and Riana Shackelbolt; and Bliss and Everett Longbottom. Only instead of seventeen children there were twenty. There were now two of Hugo, Naomi, and Odette.

"Vell, then, explain!" Viktor demanded, folding his arms over his chest while Hermione stood tall and intimidating with her hands on her hips. No one envied Hugo. Both of his parents could be pretty scary.

"Well…I…I got the time-turner y-yesterday…f-for my classes," Hugo said, gulping.

"Yes, we know that," Hermione said impatiently. "I'm also very sure that Harry, Severus, Headmistress McGonagall, _and your mother_ all warned you to be careful with it! Not only should no one else know about it, not only should you not be using it _now_, but you should _definitely_ not get caught like this! What were you thinking?"

"I…I…" Hugo said, voice shaking and to their shock, tears welled up in his eyes as he looked away from them. "W…We wanted to go…to go back and try…and try to s-save Audrey. W…We couldn't figure out how far back to…to go, th-though s-so we ju-just stopped and…and ended up back h-here."

Silence fell over the room, only the nervous shuffling from the many children making any noise at all. Harry stared at his godson blankly for a long moment, feeling numb in his shock and eventually felt some spark of hope flame up inside of him. A time turner! They had saved Sirius and Buckbeak with one of those in his third year! The Ministry's entire collection of time-turners had been destroyed in the Time Room of the Department of Mysteries his fifth year, but he heard they recently succeeded in recreating a few of them. It didn't surprise Harry at all that Hermione's brainy son would follow in her footsteps in wanting to use one for school. He was also surprised he hadn't thought of that sooner! Of course! They could go back in time and save Audrey!

"Oh, honey," Hermione said, voice quivering. She stepped forward and pulled both versions of her son into a hug. Both Hugos looked at each other uneasily before hugging her back. "That's so…so sweet. But…but you can't, honey. It's dangerous. Time travel is not something to take lightly and you should _never_ go back that far."

"Why not?" Harry whispered. "Severus!" he then called out, looking in the direction of Severus's office, knowing his husband had been hiding in there all day, especially since their guests started to arrive. Harry had barely seen him at all since the night they found Audrey.

"Harry," Hermione sighed sadly. "I know things ended up working out in third year, but you remember how hard it was! And we only went back three hours! You have no idea what sort of trouble you could create by going back _seventy two_ hours! It…It's insane!"

"What's insane," Harry said slowly, "is _not_ doing everything I possibly can to bring back my daughter."

"Harry?" Severus asked quietly, voice far more quiet and weary than anyone had ever heard it. He narrowed his eyes at the large group gathered in the hallway before turning his questioning gaze back to his husband.

"Harry, I love you and I love Audrey, but…You could do a lot more harm than good by doing something like that!" Hermione said.

"What foolish thing does Potter have in mind now?" Severus asked, rubbing his temples.

"He wants to use a time-turner to go back three days to save Audrey!" Hermione said, stepping aside and motioning at her two sons and his two daughters.

Severus's eyebrows scrunched together as he stared at them and then he scoffed. "I will assume this was not a well thought out plan…He was always prone to reckless behavior."

"Severus…Hugo, Naomi, and Odette tried to go back and save Audrey. _We_ could…we could try," Harry said quickly, desperately. "We _have_ to try."

"Harry, I'm sorry, but you can't," Hermione said sadly. "If it had been a short time, I would have agreed, but Harry…This is too dangerous. You could be risking more than Audrey by doing this!"

"Don't start with me, Hermione," Harry growled. "You have _no idea_ what it's like!"

"I don't have any idea what what's like, Harry?" Hermione demanded coldly. "To lose a child? I _did_, Harry!"

Harry swallowed hard and looked away from Hermione as tears began leaking out of the corners of her eyes. Before she and Viktor had gotten married, they had gotten pregnant and Hermione had lost the baby late in her second trimester, a baby girl they called Anya Isadora Krum. Harry felt badly…almost guilty for having said that. But Hermione couldn't really understand…the two things were different. Yes, Hermione had hurt, but…It was still different. Harry had had Audrey and should still have her. Hermione hadn't had to see the broken form of her daughter at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower. Hermione hadn't had to read these journal entries that showed just how much of her child's suffering she had been missing. There was too much guilt and too much pain and too much pressure to do something differently, knowing that things could be changed. Harry wanted to scream at her, to tell her how different it was and how she could never know what he was going through exactly. The words were stuck in his mouth, though, and before he knew it his vision was blurred by hot tears and he choked back a sob, slamming his hand over his mouth and turning away from them.

He wanted Audrey back…he needed his baby girl to be alive and healthy. It didn't matter what anyone said. He had to save her because he couldn't bear to live through this.

"Viktor and Hermione, would you please take the children outside and let everyone know we'll be there shortly?" Severus requested quietly. "I'll keep the extras in the bedroom and I'll talk with Harry."

"Alright, Severus," Hermione said. "Thank you and…I'm so sorry."

Harry stood stiffly as Hermione walked by and gave him a gentle pat on the back before walking to the door and with her husband ushered the children all out ahead of them. Severus then instructed Hugo, Naomi, and Odette to return to Naomi's room and Harry turned to follow them back there, glancing over his shoulder as he went to be sure that the door was closed and that no one else was there, listening or watching. "Severus, we have to do this," Harry said, closing the door as he entered Naomi's room. "We can't just…not even _try_!"

"I know," Severus said. "Hugo, give us the time-turner."

Hugo blinked in surprise. "You're going to save Audrey?"

"Of course we are."

"Good!" Hugo said, looking relieved as he quickly went to remove the time-turner and in his excitement dropped it accidentally as he went to hand it to Severus.

"Careful!" Severus hissed as the time-turner hit the floor.

"S-sorry," Hugo stuttered, stepping forward to grab it and accidentally stepping on the chain. Harry cringed and hastily grabbed the time-turner before Hugo could do more damage to it. He took it in his hand and turned it over. The clasp looked a bit damaged and the hourglass looked smudged and a bit scratched, but it wasn't broken or anything. "Looks fine," he said and put the long chain around his neck and then stepped closer to Severus to help put it around him, too. Severus had to lean over a bit to have the chain fit them both comfortably, as he was a good bit taller than his short husband. "Okay, so how far back do we go?"

"We found her around…11:30 that night," Severus mumbled. "We can say she…she did it an hour before then, to be safe…We should probably go back before the feast so we have time to work everything out."

"Yeah, I'll sneak the Map out of our rooms and we can wait in the Astronomy Tower for her. If we do it during the feast, then no one should be in the corridors at all," Harry said.

"Good," Severus said. "We'll say…Seventy seven hours."

"And that's seventy seven turns," Harry agreed. He grasped the time-turner with shaky hands and slowly began to turn it. His heart was hammering out of control in his chest and he felt so lightheaded in his excitement and fear. They were going to have to be extremely careful and Hermione was right—it _was_ incredibly risky. But it was well worth it. Harry was willing to do anything to make sure Audrey came back to them safe and sound. One look at his husband told Harry that Severus was feeling the same way. It didn't matter how crazy this plan was, neither could sit back and just bury their daughter, knowing that some alternative existed.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…" Harry counted quietly as he turned the hourglass. His fingers were so shaky they slipped sometimes and in those moments Severus looked close to snapping at him before Harry quickly started turning it again. He was vaguely aware of the children whispering and Severus hissing at them to stop. Already he could feel that strange pull that he hadn't felt in so long. He began turning it faster, seeing sick in his excitement the closer to the number they got.

It was at fifty two that the small knob on the side of the charm, the one used to turn the hourglass, fell out. "Shite!" Harry hissed, in his overwhelmed state feeling like he could scream or cry. Instead he quickly yanked out his wand and began turning the hourglass with magic, hoping it would work.

"Potter, stop that!" Severus snapped. "Do you even remember where you left off? It's going too fast…Harry, _stop_!" Severus snarled.

It was true. The hourglass was spinning faster and faster and Harry couldn't remember how many turns he had done before the knob broke and especially hadn't kept track of how many it was doing now. Harry fumbled with his wand and nearly dropped it and ended up catching it between his wrist and his chest. Severus had already whipped out his wand to stop the turning. Harry grasped tightly onto his husband as the sensation hit harder, pulling on them both, the feeling of flying backwards very fast. Had it been this bad all those years ago? He felt so nauseous it almost hurt. Blurs of colors and shapes flew by them and his ears were pounding so hard and so loud he felt as though his head might explode.

Then he felt solid ground beneath his feet and everything came into focus again.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

**Author's Note: **While I really liked how the first chapter came out, I couldn't get this to really work as well as I had hoped. Oh well! I have lots of plans for this story so I hope everyone enjoys it and stays with me!

For Resistance fans, I know I've been slow on that front, especially since its outline is the only one I managed to salvage. Just know that I found a beta for that story and I asked her to look over all of the previous chapters, too, so that's why it's taking a while for the next chapter to get up. I've been lazy since she's been hard working on it, but she only has 3 chapters left to do so I'll work on the next soon and we can hopefully get a new chapter up next week!

Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading this story, putting it on favorites and alerts, and reviewing! I hope everyone continues to enjoy it! Big thanks to my reviewers: xXxElectraxXx, Lady DestinyHope, da-blk saiyangirl!

Also, a note about the start of the chapter…Each paragraph was only an excerpt from various journal entries of Audrey's…If they kind of confused you, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of a better way to do it lol.


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